166 - ketab farsi

States Senate
emphasized the
necessity of
declaring that
Israel is our most
important friend
in the middle east
and that we will
stand with her no
matter what. “We
must be clear
and loud and
u n e q u i v o c a l , ”
said Fiorina, who
also spoke about
the importance
of standing up for
the people in Iran
who are risking
their lives for
human rights.
“We are proud that we
helped further the U.S.-Israel
relationship by empowering our
community to become more
effective Israel advocates,” said Sam
Yebri, President and co-Founder of
30 Years After.
Meg Whitman, former
Republican candidate for governor
of California, also shined light on
the contributions Israel has made to
technological progress. Dan Senor,
author of “Start-Up Nation” alluded
to Meg Whitman mentioning that
Israeli startups, Israeli innovations,
Israeli engineers, and Israeli
entrepreneurs helped transform the
eBay while she was CEO of the
company. In fact, this turned Senor
on to a story that was the centerpiece
of his book.
The conference, themed
“Now is our time: to learn, to act, to
lead,” certainly did more than fulfill
its purpose.
The feedback from the
conference has been consistently
positive. “The most meaningful
feedback comes from those who are
excited to vote for the first time,”
said Yebri. “Those who find a new
community organization that they
want to support, or those who thank
us for focusing our community on
doing good for others, not just well
financially for ourselves.”
30 Years After was
established in 2008 with the initial
purpose of engaging a community of
new Americans to become involved
in civic activities, community, and
public service.
Since 2008, 30 Years After
has increased their media exposure,
including publicity through
television coverage on local evening
news and international media in
Europe and the Middle East. And
although there were union strikes
and protests outside of the Century
Plaza hotel that morning, the
conference was no exception to this
exposure.
Yebri believes that the
success of the conference reflected
two things: “that Iranian-American
Jews have
unpacked their
bags and are
eager to make a
difference locally
and nationally,
and that political
leaders are noticing
the growing voice
and power of
this influential
community.”
Without a doubt,
this group’s
vision has been
actualized; their
goals have been
fulfilled, their
voices heard.
*Nicole Behnam is a student at USC
majoring in Public Relations and
Journalism.
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